I worked wih some guys at a club in Euclid Ohio that put on a sober dinner and dance. I could go on about all the wonderful things I did and how I set a good example, and how I took action to help other alcoholics which insured my sobriety, but it isn't about me anymore.

Shortly after midnight, the DJ was playing "Celebrate" by Kool and the Gang. The dance floor was full. There was every shape and size and appearance of alcoholics dancing. Alcoholics that had only one eye. Alcoholics that were overweight. Alcoholics that were missing most of their teeth. There were beautiful alcoholic women and men, and not so beautiful alcoholic women and men. There were long-timers up in age and new guys and girls with only months or days.

Then there were kids. There were 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11-year-old kids dancing around busting ballons with their bare feet in socks. They were dancing with their mommies or daddies and their "kid-fellow" girlfriends and boyfriends. There were smiles on their faces. These were the victims of "our personal adventures" before. They were there with us - happy and sober maybe for the first time celebrating a holiday with their sober parents.

I saw a room full of about 120 people having the time of their lives. I looked and thought to myself how could that 120 people out there dancing and having a great time have possibly been 100% hopeless alcoholics at one time or antoher. How could all those folks that knew nothing but drunkeness be here in one room together dancing on a night that normally would have been spent in a blackout, or in jail, or in a detox center, or dead on the highway. It was an amazing sight.

This was a miracle for me to watch and be part of. It would have been completely different if I was there to be entertained - somehow I wouldn't have got the same perspective. I would have had fun and enjoyed myself for sure as I have at other AA dances. I would have danced with all the ladies that nobody asked to dance. But being of service did just what Dallas said it would do.

I had a feeling of euphroria that none of my drunks could ever match. For lack of a better term I was "high on life". I don't think words can describe how awesome and powerful the Presence of the Universe was there out on that dance floor. The closer I got to the dance floor, the more spiritual energy I felt. You'd have to be dead to not sense God in the midst. I had to stand back because when I got close, tears literally filled my eyes.

I guess you could say that if I ever could put a face on Grace, there were a hundred or so folks that came to mind that night. There was a girl who was a former barmaid that cleaned the tables off, one by one, right behind me after I swept. She had gone through a divorce, surgery for cancer, and moving out only weeks beforehand. She is a secretary of a big home group in Wickliffe Ohio. Yet it was beautiful to watch this complete stranger follow in my footsteps doing a "menial" task with humility. willingness, and enthusiasim written all over her face.

I've helped out at AA events before, but this New Years seemed more meaningful to me than all the others. It was like playing a small part in a bigger miracle. It was like watching a Perfect God do His work and carry the message through a 120 broken and imperfect people.

I hope your holidays were as fulfilling as mine.

God bless all of you and thank you all so much for teaching me how to find joy in each moment.